EB Welding Startup - Suggestions?

[Stringmaker]

I'm embarking on starting an electron beam welding company. I've worked as an engineer in gas turbine engines my entire career to date. Metallurgy and joining are fascinating as does seeing stuff come to life. You don't see many welding companies starting up these days. Any advice or thoughts to help guide it down the path to success?

Thanks.
Brian

 

Never had the experience of starting a business myself, but as a welding engineer I would say you need to ask the following questions:

1) Who are your potential clients? Do you have sufficient depth of knowledge of these industries and their particular economics?
2) For a given alloy and part configuration, what processes does EBW compete against? Technical and economic Pros and Cons.
3) Do you want to work as a flexible job shop or have a limited product line with more dedicated setups?
4) Will you compete on quality/value-added or on volume (or both)?

Do your research and then produce a detailed business plan for 3rd party critique, even if not required for financing purposes.
Good luck!

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[tbuelna]

Typically, vendors for critical processes like EB welding of turbine engine components need to be qualified to perform the work by each customer. Making consistent EB welds with the high quality required for these applications is no simple matter. And since the customer can have a significant amount of money invested in the parts provided to you for welding, it can get quite expensive when non-conforming weldments are rejected by your customer.

Don't underestimate the amount of money required to first start the business, and then operate it for a period of time that will likely be far longer than you imagined, until it finally produces positive cash flow and generates a profit.

One important thing you can take advantage of are any industry connections you have established during your career. These personal relationships are critical for securing new contracts in this type of business.

Best of luck to you.

 

[MotorCity]

One thing I've learned from watching "Shark Tank" is that you need to answer the question "Why should I go to you for XYZ services?" In other words, what differentiates you from your competition or what makes you stand out? You need to do something different or better than your competition. I know nothing about EB welding, but I am guessing that you and your competition use virtually the same equipment that produce virtually the same quality of welds. So, there is probably not a big way to set yourself apart on the production side. Maybe your differentiator can be on the customer service side. Provide on site services? Provide a time guarantee? Offer tours of your operation to potential clients?

 

[weldstan]

Know your potential customers. Know your equipment and its limitations. Know the materials to be welded - alloy types, preheating post heating requirements, potential for contamination from a number of sources, etc.

Develop a detailed business plan.